I'm speeding by the place that I met you
For the ninety-seventh time tonight

"How about this Geoff? I think Lily would like this basket." Rick was about to give up. They'd been to almost every store in the mall and nothing pleased him. Geoff has disagreed with every suggestion he'd made and he was getting tired. He was not a shopper. In Rick's eyes, no man is.

"I'm just not sure. I don't know if that would be an appropriate gift for me to give my future mother-in-law. Shouldn't it be a little more sentimental or special in some way? How about a beautiful necklace? Something simple yet at the same time elegant. Would she have any charms for it? I could get her a chain and you could get her a charm or vice versa. That could be a nice gift from a future son-in-law don't you think?" Geoff held back a smile.

Rick slowly nodded, as Jake asked, "Wasn't that the first thing we looked at? We went to the jewelry store first right? Or did I imagine that? I may have nodded off and missed it since I'm so tired."

Geoff used this moment to smile at the two men, rather pleased with himself. He decided once they'd stepped into the mall, he would annoy them and make them traipse all over looking for gifts. 'Wear them out and they can't think clearly enough to ask me any more questions. I think my plan worked well. I do like that basket though. No, she'll get a necklace and maybe Tiffany would like the basket.' He explained. "Sorry. I guess we did look at jewelry first. I suppose I wasn't thinking about that at the time. Maybe I was trying to figure out something more original or special to give her and assumed I would find something better elsewhere. We did get to know one another better though, don't you both think? What I'll do is get Tiffany the basket and then we'll go get Lily a necklace." Geoff smiled, paid for the basket, and headed toward the jewelry store. His plan worked.

"I'll be back in a moment. You two can wait out here if you like while I go inside and find a necklace and pay for it. I may get an engraved charm as well. I'll try not to be too long." Geoff fully intended to take his time. He realized the men would need to discuss how their inquisition was progressing and Geoff would give them the time they needed. He decided he would definitely talk with the minister that evening and figure out, provided Grace agreed, if he could marry the two that night instead of waiting until tomorrow as a surprise to Grace. Right before rehearsal started he would tell her his plan. He thought she would like it and never imagined he should ask her first.

The moment Geoff walked into the store Rick spoke. "Jake, what the hell just happened? I think we've been had. He's not as dumb as we hoped is he?" Rick sat down on a bench and sighed. He was exhausted.

"I don't know. I really don't have a clue what he's thinking. There's something going on in that boy's mind that we don't know about though, thats for certain. I hope Grace figures it out before it's too late for her sake. Eli's too of course. Do you think they're talking yet? Will they even show up for the rehearsal dinner? They should just skip everything and not worry about explaining it to Geoffrey. What a name." Jake hoped his daughter and Eli would simply decide to go away for a day or so to figure everything out. It would take more than an afternoon to figure everything out and they didn't need Geoff around to take advantage of anything. Grace needed to search her heart and stand firm with whatever decision she made. 'Gracie, I hope you make the right decision and stick to it. Don't let this man you think you love bully you into anything. I wish you could hear me now and know I will be there for you no matter what you decide.'

Rick looked at Jake and knew he was thinking something serious. "What are you thinking? Probably the same thing I am. Those kids need to make a decision and keep it fresh in their minds as they face this guy who's starting to prove he can be manipulative. He's intelligent and he wants Grace, which makes him dangerous. She wont see it though will she? You don't see what's right in front of you when it comes to love, good or bad." He hoped his son was able to find the words to tell Grace how he feels and doesn't take too long doing it.

At the house with Lily...

Before Karen was able to ring the doorbell, Lily flung the door open, grabbed her arm, and said, "Hi Karen. Hurry up, come in, come in. It looks like we have a million things to do and not much time left." Lily smiled as she and Karen made their way to the kitchen.

"Hello Karen." Judy said with a warm smile and a hug. "How are you? Are you as rattled as we are?"

"Yes I am. I don't know what they'll do and I don't enjoy the feeling of not knowing. I saw the two of them in the yard and it is so obvious there is something between them. I hope they see it and can face it head on and accept it. It's the only way either of them will ever have peace. I love my son but he does not have a good track record with women." Karen smiled and said "thank you" as Lily handed her a cup of tea.

"I thought we could use some tea. Decaf of course since we've got smeone here about to explode. Of course, we don't need anything else making our nerves worse do we?" Lily leaned against the counter and asked the question no one knew how to answer. "What will happen when Grace sees Geoff after talking to Eli?" Lily sighed. She had doubts about wanting an answer.

"Hey Mom! What are you doing here?" Jessie made her way into the kitchen after a nap and was surprised to see her mother drinking tea in Lily's kitchen. "How deep are you in this plot to stop the wedding?" Jessie stood behind her mother and wrapped her arms around her.

"Hello sweetie. Oh, fairly deep. Grace and Eli are at the house as we speak. Hopefully telling one another how they feel and trying to decide how to tell Geoff." She was hopeful but had an indescribable feeling of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach that wouldn't seem to go away. "Should we be feeling this way at all? Should we really be plotting to stop a wedding? I don't know, I just want Eli and Grace happy. I know her happiness is what Eli wants and in time he could be happy if he knows Geoff is the one that can do that. I don't think he's convinced Geoff is the one for her though. I don't think I'm convinced Geoff is the one after the few times I've seen him. And by the way Jess, how deep are you in on this plot? Did you get a chance to speak to Eli at all?"

Jessie smiled as she said, "I brought the subject up this morning and he never denied anything. Of course, I've known forever that he's been in love with Grace. He never felt as though he had any sort of genuine chance with her or that he deserved a chance. He told me one night that he never felt worthy of her love and would never ask her to love him. He knew he'd hurt her and that has been on his mind all this time. I never thought I would see my brother so afraid of anything. True love scares him and he's going to waste his life away unless he makes that step and takes the plunge." She hoped her brother was telling Grace how he truly feels.

Jessie's mind began to wander as she thought about her own heart and her fears of love. Why didn't she have anyone special in her life? She'd never forgotten her first love. She'd never forgotten those feelings that surrounded her heart and protected it from the rest of the world. Jessie would always have memories of her first love planted deep in her heart but like Eli, she was afraid to take the chance and find out if anything were still there. She excused herself as she found her way to her car. She needed a drive and knew exactly where that drive would lead her. She would find herself in the exact same place she always did. In front of Katie's old house. Maybe something in her heart will inspire her and she'll help Eli and Grace...or even herself.

A little later...

"Karen, is Jess okay?" Judy looked out the window once again to see if she'd come back yet.

"I'm not sure. Whenever the subject arises about someone in love or a couple having problems, she simply leaves. She gets in her car and goes and I've never asked her where. She comes back and always has a faraway look in her eyes so I never wanted to push her. Maybe I should. I think I have an idea of where she goes. I've always thought she makes the drive to Katie's old house. I know she doesn't live there anymore but I always thought Jess still cared about her and missed her and would go there to feel close to her again. Maybe we should find out today since it seems we're in the romance business." Karen glances over to the window. "My goodness the wind has really picked up hasn't it? This is going to be a terrible storm. Does the weather service have any watches out?" Karen walked over to the window and noticed the sky was growing darker by the minute.

"I haven't heard anything specific. Speaking of storms, Rick said there are storms brewing all over. I am not sure at all how the breakfast went. Grace and Eli need to get back here and quickly before Geoff knows there is something wrong or that there could be something wrong. He asks enough questions as it is about the wedding. I've never understood him. There always seems to be so much going on in his mind that we never find out. Never worried me until now. And of course, now is not a good time to have an extra worry." Lily frowned as she continued to worry about her eldest daughter. 'I love you Grace. Listen to your heart sweetie.'